IF you bank with a major bank, you might have noticed the teller machines lately have been offering “Cardless Cash”.

Last week I gave it a spin and the implications are interesting.

I’m with Commonwealth, so I’ll share what’s involved with them. ANZ, Westpac and St George all have their own take on it.

Before you get in the line for the machine, you fire up the bank’s app on your phone (or Apple Watch, should you be so blessed).

It asks how much money you want to take out.

It then produces an eight-digit number, and text messages a four digit one-time PIN. They’re good for 30 minutes. The app kindly counts down the time left, no pressure.

Provided with both these numbers a Commonwealth machine will spit out the desired amount of cash.

There are a few advantages of this. ATM skimmer kits are sadly available to members of the criminal fraternity and while banks try to keep quiet on these matters, we understand it has happened here in Canberra.

Rather than presenting a possibly compromised machine with your card’s magnetic stripe, as well as your PIN, instead the scammer gets a code that has already been used for its one-time purpose.

Around the world cyber criminals have increasingly been targeting point-of-sale terminals. While I have argued in the past that there would be some social benefit to getting rid of cash, for the truly paranoid (and almost none of us are paranoid enough in this day and age) cardless cash is a considerable leap forward.

There are some interesting additional possibilities, though.

Cardless cash is a new way to send money.

You can give anyone you’re communicating with the 12 magic digits (over the phone, in an email, on a sticky note) and the name of the right bank to use.

No need to trust your partner or kids with card and PIN to get some money out at the shops.

Dodgy friends will be able to hit you up for money in ways they could never dream of before. This might be of great benefit if you are a dodgy friend.

The criminal fraternity not engaged in card skimming are going to love it, although it should be noted the amounts are pretty limited, $500 a day maximum with Commonwealth.

The advantages for the big banks, of course, cannot be overstated.

Having invested in the bricks and mortar of bank branches, and the very expensive humans to occupy those premises, this is a compelling reason to be with a bank that offers a physical presence.

Between internet banking and paypass debit cards, it’s possible to go many moons without darkening the door of a bank branch, or even an ATM, something which must wake major bank executives in the night every now and then.

So it’s a good move by the big banks.

But if you’re withdrawing cash, I’d recommend going cardless.

It’s about the same amount of bother, but you don’t have to worry about securing your PIN.

Which just leaves the challenge of remembering it when you use it even less.